Comparison

Stylophone vs LyrPlay

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Stylophone

This app serves as a modern, open-source remote control for a Music Player Daemon (MPD) server. It offers full playback control, playlist management, and library browsing, optimized for iPhone and iPad. It requires a separate MPD server to function.

Highlights
  • Full playback control
  • Playlist management
  • Library browsing
  • Control Center integration
  • Album art support
Features
Read full description

A modern, open source Music Player Daemon (MPD) client optimized for iPhone and iPad. Buy once, get updates forever. “Music Player Daemon (MPD) is a flexible, powerful, server-side application for playing music. Through plugins and libraries it can play a variety of sound files while being controlled by its network protocol.” This application is meant to act as a remote for a MPD server and won't play any music on its own. Features: - Careful design that makes the most out of your screen real estate - Full playback control - Playlist management (Create, Add/Remove tracks, Delete) - Integration with Control Center - Local Playback of your MPD server's music stream if available - Browse library by albums, or directly by folders - All data is pulled from your MPD Server only - Support for both albumart and readpicture commands for maximum compatibility with your server's cover art library

About

LyrPlay

This app transforms your iPhone or iPad into a premium Squeezebox player, offering seamless integration with Lyrion Media Server. Enjoy your personal music collection with native FLAC support, high-quality audio streaming, and offline playback capabilities.

Highlights
  • Native FLAC and Opus support
  • Material Web Interface integration
  • CarPlay support
  • Background audio playback
  • Offline playback for queued songs
  • Automatic server discovery
Features
Read full description

Transform your iPhone and iPad into a premium Squeezebox player with LyrPlay, the ultimate iOS companion for Lyrion Media Server (LMS). Enjoy your personal music collection with native FLAC / Opus support, seamless Material web interface integration, and high-quality audio streaming. KEY FEATURES Native FLAC Support Stream lossless audio with native decoding for 16-bit and 24-bit FLAC files. Experience your music collection with crystal-clear quality that preserves every detail. Material Web Interface and CarPlay Support Integrates with the Material Skin by CDrummond, providing full LMS control through a touch-optimized interface. Access your entire music library, playlists, and server settings with intuitive navigation. Background Audio Continuous playback with proper iOS integration including lock screen controls, Control Center access, and background audio support. Your music never stops, even when switching apps. Keep Playing Offline Saves the next songs in your queue on the phone, so music keeps playing through tunnels and dead spots, and your server picks up where you are when the network returns. Server Discovery Automatic LMS server detection with backup server support and failover capabilities. Connect effortlessly to your home server with robust connection management. Performance Optimized Built specifically for iOS with efficient networking, smart buffering, and bandwidth optimization options for various connection speeds. AUDIO FORMAT SUPPORT FLAC (16-bit, 24-bit) with native decoding AAC, MP3, M4A, Opus and other standard formats Configurable transcoding for bandwidth optimization Lock screen and Control Center integration Volume control through LMS and device buttons Gapless Playback Player Synchronization - restart track after sync REQUIREMENTS iOS 15.6 or later Lyrion Media Server (LMS) Material Skin plugin installed on your LMS server Network access to your LMS server (home network, VPN or HTTPS) TECHNICAL SETUP For advanced configuration options including transcoding optimization, visit the project documentation at github.com/mtxmiller/LyrPlay. Built with SwiftUI for iOS interface, Bass for native FLAC / Opus support, and WebKit for Material skin integration. LyrPlay delivers a quality Squeezebox experience on your iOS device. Turn your iPhone or iPad into a network audio player for your personal music server.

Screenshots

Stylophone4 screens
LyrPlay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Stylophone at 100% against LyrPlay's 50%. Stylophone also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). LyrPlay's advantage is price (Free vs $4.99) and update cadence (monthly vs every 13 months). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

LyrPlay is free to download; Stylophone costs $4.99 up front. LyrPlay sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Stylophone asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stylophone holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LyrPlay has 21 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Stylophone's written reviews are positive against 50% of LyrPlay's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stylophone ships an update every 13 months, LyrPlay monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Stylophone versus LyrPlay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStylophoneLyrPlay
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.5 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings121 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVincent AlvesEric Miller

Customer experience

Stylophone

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

LyrPlay

All ratings21 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

Stylophone

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

LyrPlay

One-time1
  • Icon Pack$2.99

Questions

Is Stylophone free?
Stylophone costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LyrPlay free?
LyrPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Stylophone or LyrPlay?
Stylophone is rated higher. Stylophone averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while LyrPlay averages 4.5 from 21 ratings.
Do Stylophone or LyrPlay have ads?
Neither Stylophone nor LyrPlay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stylophone or LyrPlay?
Stylophone ships an update every 13 months, and LyrPlay monthly. Most recently, Stylophone was updated on November 3, 2026 and LyrPlay on October 30, 2026.

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